A very Chinese new year

photo credit: Sarah Soon

and I'm back again.

I didn't go on a vacation, didn't go to Indonesia, didn't have extra angpows, not much people visited....

However, for me, this is by far the most interesting Chinese New Year ever.

Maybe it's because I love tranquility so bad that I actually hoped that no one visits. 

Oh, forgeddit.

I noticed that my relatives became closer than previous year. There were more hugging, joking, reminiscing...

and for the first time we visited our BEC friends. The best thing was, for every visit, we ended up talking non stop, and getting closer. 

Thinking back, the fact that I prefer staying at home and doing nothing over getting angpows makes me feel shameful . 

Chinese New Year is not all about money and snacks. It is about reunion, it is about LOVE.

   

Chinese New Year is also about going back to your hometown and recall the precious memories that you have lost to your busy life. 

Going to places that you once spent your childhood.

The storeroom that was used for your punishment. Although it not there anymore, reminds you that how naughty you were.

The path you used to walk through everyday to kindergarten.

They are all so beautiful. 

You love your hometown so dearly that you hope that you can come here more often, to ride the bicycle, to explore... to discover new paths

to imagine what was it like in the past, who lived in that old house, what was their story

This, for me, is how Chinese New Year should be.

P/S: this is my hometown, Rasa. 

It means "Feeling" or "Taste" in English, which totally suits this small town, where I grew up.

*Cheers*